It’s an hour before my bedtime and I have no idea what to write for this blog post. Since I vowed to keep this blog focused on writing, I’m not going to give my views on the Michael Jackson funeral circus or Sarah Palin’s strange resignation announcement.
I would never tell you that I love quiet indie movies like The Good Girl and Wendy and Lucy, or that I’ve seen The Apostle at least five times.
It would make no sense for me to tell you that I have seen a ghost, spoken in tongues, and cannot stand the thought that I have a skeleton inside me.
And I can’t think of any reason to mention that I’ve never eaten pizza that measures up to my expectations, rarely eat ice cream, love black jelly beans, and still hope someday to find those original candy lipsticks that were wrapped in gold foil, not the imitation ones they sell in the vintage candy shops.
You wouldn’t be interested to know that no matter how many times I see the spring woods, or hummingbirds, or Christmas lights, I’m always thrilled.
I’d bore you if I told you there is no better sound on earth than the laughter of delighted children, and no worse sound than the crying of a terrified, pain-wracked, or heart-broken child.
No, my only purpose here is to write about writing … which, I’m happy to announce, I’m finally back to doing. Like, yayyyyyyyy!
I can state -- almost unequivocally -- that the title of this blog does not refer to my mental state. It refers to my writing, which does, of course, flow out of my mind. Sometimes the process of writing is messy, sometimes weird, sometimes beautiful -- and always harder than I wish, but I love it. As I wander back into the real world from time to time, I hope to entertain you with my musings.
I have just finished writing a novel titled The Brevity of Roses.
24 Comments
7 July, 2009 at 7:24 am
I love this………and most of the things that you mentioned ring true for me as well. Hi kindred spirit
7 July, 2009 at 7:36 am
Why, thank you, and welcome to my blog.
7 July, 2009 at 9:00 am
I love black jelly beans, too!
7 July, 2009 at 9:13 am
If that’s the secret to your lovely writing, I’ll eat them more often.
7 July, 2009 at 9:20 am
And you can count on me to write about all the stuff you won’t write about! Can I just say that the fact that you hate that there’s a skeleton inside you may be the cutest thing I ever (didn’t) read on a blog?
7 July, 2009 at 9:29 am
And you write it with razor wit! Can you say that? Yes you can … but I won’t believe it.
7 July, 2009 at 9:55 am
I eat ice cream 2-3 times a day!
7 July, 2009 at 9:58 am
I’m beginning to sense the pattern here, Paul. All I have to do is mention ice cream and you come out of lurking to leave a comment!
7 July, 2009 at 10:20 am
Add me to the black jelly bean club. I have only recently become aware there’s a skeleton lurking in there, and I agree — very unnerving.
7 July, 2009 at 10:37 am
Hmmm, black jelly beans … and your writing is also lovely. I’ll have to step it up, or I’ll be the exception to the rule.
7 July, 2009 at 6:12 pm
ewww, black jelly beans…is my writing that awful? lol.
You will have to try Montreal pizza, Linda.
7 July, 2009 at 6:22 pm
No, no, don’t worry, I’m sure there are thousands more excellent writers than there are black jelly bean lovers.
How do you feel about ice cream?
I’ve never been to Canada … in fact, it’s sad how few places I’ve been … in the flesh. I’m going to NYC the end of this month and will taste my first authentic “slice.”
8 July, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Oh, do enjoy it! It should be a treat – the pizza and the city
Love ice cream!
8 July, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Well, even though I’m going with my healthnut son and daughter-in-law, they’ve promised me we will do a coke and a slice.
7 July, 2009 at 7:50 pm
I’m always delighted by x-mas lights and hummingbirds and I’d like to add FIREFLIES!!! I love fireflies…except when someone puts them in a jar that’s just mean.
Pizza is sometimes like coffee and bacon…often the smell is the best part…
I love having a skeleton. I tried going without, but I didn’t like just puddling on the ground.
7 July, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Oh, I do miss fireflies! We don’t have them out here where I live now.
And yes, having a skeleton does have its advantages. I just prefer to think I’m held up by something else. Like willow branches. Or peppermint sticks.
7 July, 2009 at 8:32 pm
I must, must know–why do you hate skeletons? Or is that something that will have to wait for another post you didn’t write and we didn’t read?
Halloween must be bittersweet for you, with the black jellybeans, skeletons and disappointing pizza..
Great post, BTW. Not that I was interested
7 July, 2009 at 8:56 pm
I’m so glad you didn’t read the post I didn’t write.
But since you asked, and since I’ve been revealing all kind of secrets this week, I’ll tell you that I’ve always loved horror movies (and books) and the two things that frightened me most were ghosts and skeletons. Fortunately, when I was a child, it didn’t occur to me that I was a skeleton inside. Now, as an adult (ahem) I can usually ignore the thought, except now that I’m thinking about it …
7 July, 2009 at 9:01 pm
I am absolutely cracking up over here…for some reason this is tickling the old funny bone (pun intended)
I can tell you this–I will never look at a skeleton again without thinking of you and smiling. See that? You actually turned a skeleton into something to laugh about (at least for me) 
Thanks for satisfying my curiosity. I can go to bed now…
8 July, 2009 at 10:50 am
Oh, Danielle, turn my silliness into one of your marvelous poems.
8 July, 2009 at 11:42 am
With my new braces, I’m eating my and your share of ice cream, which explains my invisible skeleton.
8 July, 2009 at 11:53 am
Oh, shush, unless you’ve put on 100 pounds in the last month, there’s no way your skeleton is hidden. And not even Paul can eat that much ice cream!
9 July, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Hi Linda
This is a lovely post – some of us definitely are interested in the fact that you get a thrill out of hummingbirds and love the laughter of children.
9 July, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Thank you, Sharon. I took a quick look at your blog tonight, but I’ll be back tomorrow. Looks very interesting.